FAIRFAX, Virginia – The George Mason men's volleyball team falls to St. Francis in a well-fought EIVA match.

St. Francis won with set scores of 25-22, 22-25, 27-25, and 25-22.  With tonight's loss, the Patriots move to 6-7 on the season, while St. Francis improves their record to 9-5.

Mason started off strong, jumping out to a 7-4 lead thanks to kills from Paco Velez, Christian Malias, and Radoslav Popov. Soon after that, the Red Flash took the lead from the Patriots after winning four out of the next five points (9-9).  After that, it was all St. Francis.  The Red Flash grabbed a big lead at 17-13 after kills from Adam Barba and Mark Kochan.  The Patriots went on to lose this first set 25-22.

The second set was extremely close.  There were 11 ties and five lead changes throughout it.  After the match was tied at 17, Radoslav Popov got consecutive kills to take the lead.  The Green and Gold didn't look back from there, winning the set 25-22 after a kill from Christian Malias ended it.

The Red Flash took the early lead in the third set, winning the first four points.  However, the Patriots eventually fought back and took the lead at 17-16 after one of Popov's five kills in the set.  With eight ties, this set was a tight one.  The Patriots had set point at 24-23; however, Kyle Beatty got a clutch kill for St. Francis to tie it back up.  Once the set was tied at 25, Logan Patterson and Kyle Beatty got consecutive kills to end the set 27-25.

The Red Flash jumped out to a large lead, winning the first six points of the set thanks in part to two service aces by Kyle Beatty.  Even though the Patriots were down big, they fought back and came within just two points at 8-10.  A remarkable comeback bid from the Green and Gold saw the match tied at 20 after two attack errors in a row from the Red Flash.  However, Mason's comeback attempt was cut short as St. Francis went on to win the fourth and final set 25-22.

Radoslav Popov and Christian Malias led the Patriots with a match-high 15 kills each.  Paco Velez was the only other Patriot in double digit kills, finishing with 12.  Jackson Carr dished out a match-high 49 assists.  Meanwhile, John Jepson added 12 digs on defense to lead the Green and Gold.

The Red Flash were led by Mark Kochan, who tied for a match-best 15 kills.  Michael Krepp also dished out a team-best 48 assists.  Meanwhile, Lucas Behringer finished with a match-best 14 digs to lead St. Francis on defense.

Up Next: The Patriots host Penn State for alumni night tomorrow night.  The match will be held at the RAC at 7:00 p.m.